OT-Advice on buying a new TV

[Hoophound]

totally. as long as the end user is happy thats all that matters. Those tv's are definitely not in the 500 range.

Picked up a very nice 40" Samsung with wifi in the $400's at Costco a few weeks ago.

 

[bfair]

I love tv talk and I will stand by this tv vs any in its price range ... Reality is your not getting full hd anyway .. I have 2 sharp 60 inch Aquios edge lit 240htz Smart TVs. . I think smart is the way to go with the netflix and wireless internet tv we have now. For the money it's way better than anything I found and I really like both of them.

 

[TerryA88]

eastcoasttv.com
At least 46-47 inches
240 htz
new, ideally Samsung

These specs might push you a little over budget , but the extra $200 will be money well spent.

 

[J-dog]

You can get paralyzed with all of the info on the internet when it comes to TV shopping.

In Sammy's I trust… Have 2 plasma's… One's a 720 & one's a 1080… Both great for sports viewing. Samsung's always seem to rate high with all of their models/technologies.

Would definitely go with a larger screen… You'll regret it if you don't… Even in a small room.

 

[Brett95]

I have a 70" Sharp LED which cost $2,200, a Philips 47" LCD which cost $900, and a 42" Vizio LCD which cost less than $500. Picture quality, the Philips is my best with the Vizio a close 2nd and the Sharp last, but not too far off. Definitely look to buy at Costco because of the 2 yr warranty and for $99, you can extend for 3 more years, so my 70" has a 5-year warranty for $99. Definitely get as BIG as you can within your budget because size does matter, especially if you are farther away from the screen. My 70" has 240hz, but I have it turned off and watch at 120hz, that is all you need. Samsungs are great, but for the $'s, you can't go wrong with a Vizio.

 

[minidarren]

I have a 70" Sharp LED which cost $2,200, a Philips 47" LCD which cost $900, and a 42" Vizio LCD which cost less than $500. Picture quality, the Philips is my best with the Vizio a close 2nd and the Sharp last, but not too far off. Definitely look to buy at Costco because of the 2 yr warranty and for $99, you can extend for 3 more years, so my 70" has a 5-year warranty for $99. Definitely get as BIG as you can within your budget because size does matter, especially if you are farther away from the screen. My 70" has 240hz, but I have it turned off and watch at 120hz, that is all you need. Samsungs are great, but for the $'s, you can't go wrong with a Vizio.

This makes no sense to me. Your TV is capable of a refresh rate of 240hz, but you turn that off because 120hz is enough for you?

I was looking at a new boat the other day. The 28' is kind of cramped for the fiance, dogs, and myself. Found this really nice one with twin diesel engines. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna get it. A 37 footer. Most likely I'll only use one engine while traveling. Ya know, I could use both, but I think I'll just use one, that's all you really need.

 

[Uconn93]

I just got a Sony sound bar for my TV and can't get it to connect with the TV. It's a Sony HT-CT260h. I ran an HDMI cord from the Tv-Out on the sound bar to the HDMI in on the TV. (Although this seems counter intuitive, there is no HDMI out on the TV) The HDMI-ARC on the TV is taken up by my satellite connection so I used just a regular HDMI in port on the TV.

I also ran a cord from the optical in on the soundbar to the optical out on the TV. (Again this seems kind of counter intuitive, but there is no optical out on the sound bar and no optical in on the tv)

I made sure the volume is turned up on the sound bar and I tried volume up and volume down on the TV. I also tried all of the inputs on the sound bar, including HDMI, HDMI/TV, Optical and Analog. Nothing worked!!

The only thing I was successful in doing was linking my iphone to the sound bar by blue tooth connection and playing music off of my phone.

Does anyone have any solutions as to the connection between the sound bar and the TV?

Thanks.

 

[NYC_HUSKY22]

You should be able to get it to work with just the optical (your TV should only have an output and the input is on the bar).

Double check, you may need to go into your TV's audio settings and then you will need to keep the TV on mute to test.

Hope that helps.

 

[8893]

I take it you don't have an AVR? If not, I don't see how you can do this without running from an "Out" port on your TV to an "In" port on your sound bar. But you should only need one such connection and the optical should do it alone if there is no "Out" HDMI connection available on your TV.

I start with the manual and I'm assuming you did that? If so, I would google your product and product number and "how to connect to TV" and see what you find. If that and the various things you've described haven't worked, if it was me I would call the guy I paid to set up my system up and pay him $50 to come out and set it up.

 

[WillMadsDad]

Just installed my new UN50HU8550 Samsung - it's OUT from the TV to the TV\STB IN optical port on Sound Bar (if optical).

Same for HDMI - OUT from TV / INto the Sound bar. Sounds like you're backwards.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

Best Sound Bars of 2014

 

[Uconn93]

I finally figured it out. The reason it seems backward is because I had to go through the U-verse box first. Once I did that, it worked. Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[bcisco]

Umm excuse me that's now a Frontier box

 

[Fishy]

If you're going to watch sports (or any motion), get the fastest refresh rate you can find - 240Hz, and 480 is coming.

I used to think the same thing and then @jleves poked all kinds of holes in that when I asked him.

He can explain it better, but it went something like "blah, blah, blah, marketing, blah, blah, no difference, blah, blah, the software is guessing what the next frame is, blah, blah, don't be stupid."

But it made sense at the time and I haven't suffered for not having a 240 or whatever.

I love the Boneyard ... instead of spending a week researching this topic, I have gotten a ton of great answers in a day. I am going to get a 50" Vizio and call it a day. Thanks all.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

I have the opportunity to buy a refurbished Vizio 552b-I for $529

Price difference would be $500 for new 4k from Costco w/Square Deal extending warranty to 5 years
The money is saved already for the purchase, I just don't want to spend extra if unnecessary
Going into a room that couldn't fit any larger size, so 55" is happily the size

We don't really watch much TV on a 47inch 720 plasma:
Generally Netflix, Amazon Prime, ESPN (very basic cable package)
I'm sitting on 5 unwatched Blu-rays from library for the past week,
Maybe 2 hours total since NBA Finals, other than streaming the final Grateful Dead concert & a grainy VHS 4-hr 1976 Jersey City show via Chromecast the next day

 

[Minicoop69]

Nothing is broadcast in 4k yet except for some Netflix content. Most cable providers don't even broadcast in 1080p yet. Most are in 720p or 1080i. I wouldn't necessarily waste the money on the more expensive one, but it would be future proof if that tv lasted that long.

I would buy a Samsung 55in smart tv before I ever buy refurbished though. Vizio is becoming popular so I'm not sure how it would be.

 

[jleves]

You're question is funny - it's like asking if you should buy a used Camaro or for double the price a new Vette.

Anyhow - based on the amount of TV you watch and the budget, I agree with minicoop - don't get a refurbished TV. Someone sent it back for a reason which could be minor or major but not worth the gamble when you can get this: 55" New Vizio

You get the size you want at an affordable price and a 2 year warranty through Costco. No need to spend for a 4K based on the amount you watch and the availability of 4K.

 

[mauconnfan]

^^^^^^^

THESE

 

[CL82]

Nothing is broadcast in 4k yet except for some Netflix content. Most cable providers don't even broadcast in 1080p yet. Most are in 720p or 1080i. I wouldn't necessarily waste the money on the more expensive one, but it would be future proof if that tv lasted that long.

I would buy a Samsung 55in smart tv before I ever buy refurbished though. Vizio is becoming popular so I'm not sure how it would be.

I think I read somewhere that the Samsung smart tv is readily hackable. I'm not sure how much that matters though.

 

[TheChamps990411]

Very good responses on here so ill only add that you should listen to the advice.

 

[Hankster]

A month ago I purchased the Samsung 65" 4K curved. Hey basketball will be here before you know it. What I especially like is the One Connect. No more pushing TV from the back trying to hook up HDMI cables. Great picture. From what I understand ESPN might be the front runner for 4K. Family room is ready to go. Wife is making use of NetFlix upstairs. I used to buy all my electronic needs from Costco. This time it seemed they lagged a bit with models. However, Costco provides me with good entertainment.

 

[DonaldDraper]

55" is too small to even really worry that much about 4k. You need to be 70+ to really get the benefits. See the viewing distance vs size below. Then you can address the lack of content issue. No brainer.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

As others have noted, $500 for a refurbished Vizio seems like a lot.

Get a new Vizio (or Samsung or LG) for nearly the same price.

I wouldnt spend extra on the 4k, due to lack of content. Most broadcast isn't even 1080p, let alone 4k.

 

[UConn17]

Samsung TVs are my personal favorite. Refurbished televisions aren't worth it, and just follow all advice as above

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

LG-6090 and Vizio E55-C1 are both now available for under $600.
Netflix, Amazon, Chromecast for Watch ESPN/YouTube/ & others, network playoffs, major events, not much more. Already have Vizio soundbar; no larger set would fit in the room. Viewing from 8-10 straight on.

Which to buy, and why?